The personality profiles of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with mesial or lateral lesions were studied preoperatively with the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). The pattern of traits was not pathognomic, but patients with left and right mesial lesions differed and appeared to be more maldapative than those with lateral lesions. Patients with left meisal lesions displayed a schizoid, avoidant, anxious and dysthymic profile. Intensity of these traits was influenced by the severity of their language impairment and early onset of seizures. Right mesial patients were more likely immature and histrionic, and intent on preserving a positive image. Long-standing injury to meisal temporal structures, notably the amygdala, alters how the brain codifies and regulates emotional experiences and shapes personal and social self-concept.